Baseball glove



W. E. LONG BASEBALL GLOVE Filed Augusfl l2, 1925 Feb; 23 1926.

Patented Feb. 23, 1926. 'Y i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.v

WALTER E. LoNG, or i1IIILADELPIIIA, PENNSYLVANIA, AssiGNoii' ro GEORGE A. REACH, E PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IBASIEBAII'ILLV GLOVE.

Application filed August 12, 1925. Serial No. 49,807.

To all whom it may concern: or protect the fiiigers'by relatively sti re- Be lit known that I,.VVAL'rE1i E. LONG, inforcements lying between the lining and a citizen of the United States, and resident the outer cover of preferably all of the of Philadelphia., in the county of Philadelfingers, the term finge-r. being used yin its phia and State of Pennsylvania, have inbroad sense to include the thumb as well as 60 vented certain new and useful Improvements the four fingers, such protectors or reinforceiii Baseball Gloves, of whichl the following ments being curved-on an are of a circlecorisa specification. responding 'approximately to the curvature My present invention relates to improveof the surface o-f the base ball. Such proments in base ball gloves, and aims to proteetors are shown at 3 and preferably coin- 85A vide a glove having linger reinforcements prise inner and outer parts 3a and 3b overor protectors which will eifectually prevent lying the front and back of the linger and the fingers of the player .(including the connected by a sharply curved integralporthumb) from getting ,bruised or broken, or tion 3c extending across the endof the `finger.

the joints dislocated. Preferably the inner portion 3 extends over 70 The invention further aims to provide a the full length of thefinger, or in other glove having a protectorof this character words, approximately to thev basel thereof, which will assist in the catch-ing of the while the outer portion 3b. terminates ap.- ball and the retaining of the caught ball in proximately at the second joint. Preferably" the glove. also the front and back portions are made 75 The invention includes the novel construc- O Channel Orm in` CrOSS Section, thefront tion hereinafter described and defined by the portion having a relatively straight 'central appended Claims, portion a, as viewed in cross section, provided The invention is illustrated in the acwith marginal flanges a', while the back por- Companying drawing-5, in Whdution is of curved channel shape in cross sec- 80 Fig. 1 is a plan view of a glove embodytion, as shown. ing this invention. Tliesereinforcements or protectors may be Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation on line 2--27 madeof any suitable relatively stiff mate- Fg 1 rial, as for example relatively stiH leather, Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view, partly in or otlier'fibrous material treated to give it 85 section, showing the device in operation. the requisite stiffness. In practice in mak- Fig. 4is a sectional detail ofthe protector. ing these protectors, I provide a form or Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the mandrel. mandrel 4,-sh aped to conform approximate Fior. 6 is a sectional plan along the line ly to the desired finger or thumb, its inner e l 0 g 6 6 of Fig. 5, surface l? being curved on the are of a cir- 90 Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view showing the cle corresponding approximately to the curwrapping. vature of a base ball, and the outer surface Referring by reference characters to these 4J being substantially concentric thereto up drawings, the numeral l indicates a glove to its outer extremity, where it curves over which may be of the ordinary or any deand joins the inner curved face. A strip of 95 sired construction, and is shown as einbodyleather for forming the protector is doubled ing an outer covering la' of strong wear reover this, as shown in Fig. 7, and wrapped sisting leather, and a lining lb of rela-tively with a VInoistened cloth Wrapping 6 to cause soft material, it being customary to provide the leather strip to closely conform to the padding as indicated at 2. mandrel, and after drying, the protector 10o Due to the material of which the glove may be removed from the mandrel and will is made, there is always a liability of bruised be found to be relatively stiff', and will reor dislocated lingers should a ball happen tain its shape indefinitely and in its thus to strike the end of a finger, but heretofore, pre-formed condition, may be inserted in the so far as I am aware, it has been iinpractirespective fingers between the lining and the 105 cable to stiffen the fingers or provide means outercover. for protecting themagainst suoli liability With such a protector all ofthe fingers without interfering with the action of the are fully protected against injury from the fingers in gripping the caught ball. Acimpact of the ball, irrespective of where this cording to the present invention I reinforce might strike the hand, while at the saine 110 time not only do the protectors not interfere with the proper catching of the ball, but actually assist, as the curvature of the protectors tends to hold the fingers in ball retain- 'ing position, and furthermore, the impact of the ball against the inner end of the protector tends to cause a fulcruming or lever action of the protector causing the outer ends of the fingers andthethumb to automatically swing inward to grasp and retain 'the ball, as will be clearA from an inspection ing substantially to the curvature of abase 2. A base ball `glove having a finger reinforcement of stiff inflexible material extending approximately from the base of the finger to the extremity thereof and ycurved on the arc ofva circle corresponding substantiallyto the curvature of a baseball.

3. Axbase ball glove having one or 'more fingers provided with stili inflexible protectors overlying the front and back of. the finger and across the finger end,said protectors having front walls shaped to conform `approximately to the .curvature of the surface of a base ball. Y

4. A base ball glove having one or more finger members comprising an outer covering layerand a lining, and a finger protector of stiff material lying between the lining and covering and extending over the end of the finger and front and back thereof, the front portions being curved approximately to the lcurvature of the surface of a base 5. A base ball glove having one or more finger members, comprising an outer covering layer and a lining, and a finger protector of stiff material lying between the lining and covering and extending over the end of the finger and front and back thereof, the front .portionsbeing curved approximately to the curvature of the surface of a base ball, and the front portion extending substantially the full length of the finger.

--G. A baseball glove having one or more finger members, comprising an outer covering layer and a lining, and a finger protector of stiff material lying between the lining vand coveringand extending over the end of the finger and front and back thereof, the front portions. being curved approximately to the curvatureof the surface of a rbase ball, at least one of said portions of the protector being of substantially channel shape in cross section.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

' i l/VALTER E. LONG. 

